Your Guide to Building a Massive Chest & Triceps

Your Blueprint for Growth

Welcome to your guide for building solemn mass in your chest and triceps. This workout, designed by Chris Edmonds, Lead Coach at mountaindogdiet.com, is a proven routine for sparking new growth. This document will guide you step-by-step through each exercise, focusing not only on what to do, but also on why you're doing it. By understanding the principles behind each movement and focusing on perfect form, you can approach your training with confidence, ensuring that every rep contributes to maximum growth.

The Chest Workout

Overview of the Chest Strategy

The chest routine is structured with three exercises, each with a specific purpose. We begin with a foundational pressing movement for stretch and contraction, move to a power-focused press for upper chest development, and finish with an isolation movement to stretch the muscle and create fullness.

Exercise 1: Slight Incline Dumbbell Press

The "Why"

This is Chris Edmonds' number one exercise for building the chest. The key is using a slight incline—lower than a traditional 45-degree angle—which allows you to achieve a fantastic stretch at the bottom of the movement and a powerful, focused contraction in the pecs at the top. It's the perfect way to start your chest workout and build a strong mind-muscle connection.

Step-by-Step Form Guide

1. Bench Setup: Adjust the bench to a slight incline, one or two notches above the flat position.
   
   
2. The Movement: Sit back with the dumbbells. Lower them with control, allowing your chest to open up and feel a deep stretch in the pectoral muscles.
   
   
3. The Contraction: Drive the dumbbells up with intent and purpose, focusing on squeezing your pecs together at the top of the repetition.

Sets, Reps, and Progression Plan

You have two primary ways to structure your sets for maximum growth:

• Pyramid Up: Start with a moderate weight and gradually increase it over several sets of 6 to 8 reps. Your goal is to reach a top-end set where you are challenged to hit 8 to 12 reps. Each week, aim for progressive overload by adding more weight or completing more reps with the same weight.
  
  
• Back-Off Set (Optional): After your heaviest set, you can perform a back-off set to fatigue the muscle further and achieve a pump. For example, if your top set was with 150-pound dumbbells, you might drop down to 100-pound dumbbells and perform as many reps as possible, focusing on the stretch and contraction.

Exercise 2: Incline Barbell Press

The "Why"

This is the primary "power movement" of the workout, designed to build raw strength and thickness in the upper pecs and front delts. The technique is very specific, utilizing a shortened range of motion. This is crucial for two reasons: it keeps constant tension on the pectoral muscles throughout the set and, in the long run, helps protect your rotator cuffs from the stress of a full range of motion with heavy weight.

Step-by-Step Form Guide

1. Bench Setup: Set the bench to a traditional 45-degree incline angle.
   
   
2. The Grip: Place your hands on the barbell with your pinky fingers ("piggy") on the knurling rings.
   
   
3. The Movement: Unrack the bar and lower it with control until it is 2-3 inches above your upper chest. From this bottom position, perform a distinct pulse and then immediately drive the bar up explosively with as much power as humanly possible.

Sets, Reps, and Progression Plan

• Pyramid Up: Just like the dumbbell press, pyramid up in weight over several sets of 6 to 8 reps until you reach your top working set.
  
  
• Back-Off Set (Optional): To completely burn out your pecs and front delts, perform a back-off set after your heaviest set. For example, if you worked up to 365 or 405 lbs, strip a plate off each side and perform as many reps as you can.

Exercise 3: Pec Deck Fly

The "Why"

This is the finishing touch. After the heavy pressing movements have contracted and shortened the muscle fibers, this fly variation is used to open everything up, expand the chest, and stretch the pecs under load. This is essential for creating a complete, round look.

Step-by-Step Form Guide

1. Posture is Key: The most common mistake is concaving the chest and rounding the shoulders forward, which takes all the tension off the pecs. To perform this correctly, you must keep your chest lifted and expanded throughout the entire movement.
   
   
2. The Movement: With your chest held high, allow the handles to move back, feeling a deep stretch across your pecs. Then, bring the handles together by contracting your chest muscles.

Sets, Reps, and Progression Plan

This exercise uses a high-volume approach to pump the muscle full of blood.

• Volume Sets: Perform three sets with a descending rep scheme: a set of 15, a set of 12, and a final set of 10.
  
  
• Intensity Drop Set (Optional): To take it to the next level, after your final set of 10 reps, immediately lower the weight by approximately 30% and perform as many reps as possible until absolute failure.

Now that the chest is completely worked, we move on to building massive triceps.

The Triceps Workout

Overview of the Triceps Strategy

This triceps routine follows a strategic three-part formula for growth: start with a contraction-focused movement to warm up and pump the muscle, transition to a heavy power movement for mass, and finish with a stretch-based exercise for complete development.

Exercise 1: Rope Pushdown

The "Why"

This exercise is chosen first to safely warm up the elbow joints and drive a massive pump into the triceps. The rope attachment is specifically used because it allows you to push your hands down and out at the bottom of the movement, which effectively targets both the long and lateral heads of the triceps for a more complete contraction.

Step-by-Step Form Guide

1. Elbow Position: Keep your elbows close to your rib cage, but they do not need to be glued to your sides.
   
   
2. The Movement: Push the rope down, separating your hands at the very bottom to get a significant contraction. Control the weight back up to feel a good stretch before the next rep.

Sets, Reps, and Progression Plan

This movement begins with a high-rep warm-up, followed by work sets.

• Warm-up: Perform three warm-up sets, decreasing the reps as you go: 25 reps, then 20 reps, then 15 reps. As the reps progress down, the weight goes up to properly prepare the elbows for heavier work.
  
  
• Work Set: After the warm-ups, your first work set should be in the 10- to 12-rep range.

Exercise 2: Close-Grip Bench Press

The "Why"

This is the main "power movement" for building sheer size and strength in the triceps. While it can be performed on an incline or decline, the flat bench is the preferred variation for this program. Unlike a regular bench press, the focus here is on isolating the triceps. By focusing on "sitting the elbows down on the rib cage," you fundamentally change the biomechanics of the press to directly mimic a skull crusher, shifting the load from the chest to the triceps.

Step-by-Step Form Guide

1. The Right Grip: To find your ideal grip, let your arms dangle by your sides and then raise them to the bar. This natural, shoulder-width position is what you want. Do not go too close, as this puts unnecessary stress on your shoulders.
   
   
2. The Movement: Lower the bar to your lower pecs. Pause for a moment when the bar is an inch or two above your chest, then press up powerfully, focusing on contracting your triceps at the top.

Sets, Reps, and Progression Plan

You can choose between two effective progression models:

• Volume Approach: Perform three complex work sets, starting with 12 reps, then 10 reps, and finishing with 8 reps, increasing the weight each set.
  
  
• Top Set/Back-Off: Pyramid up in weight to a single top set of 8-12 reps. Follow this with a back-off set using a lighter weight for higher reps (15-20) to get a massive pump.

Exercise 3: Incline Dumbbell Skull Crusher

The "Why"

This is the final, crucial piece of the triceps puzzle. If you look at the progression, we started with a contraction-based exercise (Rope Pushdown), moved to a power movement (Close Grip Bench Press), and now we finish with this stretching exercise. This "Contraction -> Power -> Stretch" sequence is one of the keys to growing monster triceps. Dumbbells are preferred over a barbell because they allow for more freedom in your wrist positioning, which is often easier on the elbow joints.

Step-by-Step Form Guide

1. Setup: Lie back on a slight incline bench with a dumbbell in each hand.
   
   
2. The Starting Position: Do not stack the dumbbells directly over your chest, as this will "deload the tricep." Instead, start with them angled back slightly to maintain a "pre-stretch" and keep tension on the muscle.
   
   
3. The Movement: Lower the dumbbells with control until they are near or lightly touch your front delts, allowing for a full stretch in the triceps. From the bottom, press back up to the starting position.

Sets, Reps, and Progression Plan

This is a finishing exercise where form and feel are more important than heavy weight. On a regular workout, 50-60 lb dumbbells would be considered a heavy load. This movement requires significant stabilization, so if you are new to it, start light and take time to master the form.

Words of Encouragement

You now have a complete blueprint for building a bigger and stronger chest and triceps. The key to this routine's success lies in its intelligent structure—moving from heavy compound presses to isolation and stretching movements—and your commitment to executing it effectively. Focus on perfect form, chase both progressive overload and a skin-splitting pump, and stay consistent. If you follow this routine as described, you will see significant growth.